Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has risked another backlash by announcing a further 54 branch closures in England and Wales. The latest cull comes on top of 421 closures announced since December last year, taking the total since then to 475. It means the high street lender is axing nearly half its branch network in less than a year. Prior to the rapid rounds of deep cuts it had 1,003 branches.
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (Assd GBP Cash) (ENRA) has won a legal victory against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) that will stop it being forced it to hand over confidential documents in a long-running investigation into alleged fraud. Judges at the Court of Appeal have overturned a decision by the High Court last year that documents prepared by an external law firm hired by ENRC to look into allegations of wrongdoing were not covered by legal privilege.
The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments (BDEV), insisted it still had plenty of room to grow as it unveiled record annual profits after selling more homes than in any year in the past decade. David Thomas, chief executive, denied the strong results, which followed record profits from Barratt rival Redrow yesterday, showed the market for new build homes was reaching its peak.
A string of blockbuster gemstone discoveries has driven a surge in revenues and profits at London-listed miner Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD). The company has dug up 10 major diamonds in the first half of the year, all of them above 100 carats. Earlier this year it sold the 910-carat Lesotho Legend for $40m, and it has discovered two more since the end of the reporting period.
has taken a minority stake in London-listed Solgold (SOLG) as it steps up the hunt for a new source of copper. The FTSE 100 giant has bought a 6.1% holding in SolGold from Guyana Goldfields for a total sum of £27m, paying 26.6p a share – a 20% premium to its closing price. SolGold is exploring the Cascabel copper-gold project in northwest Ecuador, which is thought to be a highly prospective deposit. BHP has declared the hunt for more copper a priority as the metal is in high demand for its conductive properties.
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) has poached an executive from Canada’s biggest retailer to spearhead its digital overhaul. The high street staple has recruited Jeremy Pee as chief digital and data officer, a key hire for M&S as it attempts to reboot the business and fend off the threat from online rivals. Mr Pee joins from retail giant Loblaw Companies, where he helped build its online shopping business as senior vice president.
Questor: buy Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) for its sharp focus on profitability and underwriting nous
